Correlation of desensitisation of platelet activating factor (PAF) receptors with intensity of inflammation and intestinal PAF content during experimental ileitis in guinea pig

The anti-phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) assay as currently applied for leprosy is conceived as an early marker of asymptomatic infection, early disease diagnosis and cure monitoring. Its use as a prognostic marker of reaction is still a matter of controversy. We conducted a case-control study to investigate whether IgM and IgG anti-PGL-I antibodies could discriminate patients at increased risk of developing reactions. Eligible cases were untreated leprosy patients at the onset of type 1 and type 2 reactions recruited from among 600 concurrent, newly detected, untreated leprosy patients attending an outpatient clinic in central Brazil. For the patients with reaction, approximately the same number of leprosy cases without reaction matched as to bacterial index (BI), age and gender were randomly selected. Individuals without clinical leprosy were evaluated as healthy controls. Sera from type 1 reaction (N = 43) and type 2 reaction (N = 26) patients were tested by an ELISA using PGL-I synthetic disaccharide-BSA antigen and 1:300 sera dilution (cut-off point > or = 0.2 OD). Antibody profiles were evaluated by exploratory data analysis and reverse cumulative distribution curves. The IgG anti-PGL-I response did not have a defined pattern, being detected only at low levels. Our results indicate that leprosy patients, independently of their reactional status, produce high levels of IgM anti-PGL-I, demonstrating a strong correlation between the magnitude of antibody response and the BI. Patients with a higher BI were at least 3.4 times more prone to produce an antibody response compared to healthy controls.     

The positive impact of red palm oil in school meals on vitamin A status: study in Burkina Faso

Background  

Vitamin A (VA) deficiency is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa and school-age children are a vulnerable group. In Burkina Faso, the production and consumption of red palm oil (RPO) is being promoted as a food supplement for VA. The objective of the study was to assess the impact on serum retinol of adding RPO to school lunch in two test zones of Burkina Faso.     

Modélisation d’une antenne-réseau et traitement optimal

An array antenna is modeled after a linear multipole filter, one part of which is connected to a distant source, radiating in a specified direction, while the relations between the other parts are characterized by the antenna admittance matrix. This modeling technique is applied to an array of parallel linear wire antennas. It is shown how the array admittance matrix can be evaluated numerically by a discrete quantization of the Maxwell’s equations with the proper boundary conditions (Harrington’s method of moments). The admittance matrix is then used to formulate the optimum signal processing for transmission (maximization of antenna gain, with or without constraints) and for reception (maximization of signalto-noise ratio). Along with the model of the array antenna that is submitted, a method of signal processing is developed in which accurate estimates are included of the losses that occur within the array elements as well as of the coupling between elements and of the noise arising in the receiving system. The antenna designer can thus optimize the geometric configuration of the array and study the phenomenon of superdirectivity with a more realistic approach than was hitherto possible.     

Diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism in a cat using echocardiography and pulmonary scintigraphy

A 10-year-old male cat was presented with sudden onset of respiratory difficulties. Clinical examination revealed an acute dyspnoea with cyanosis associated with a left systolic heart murmur. Standard thoracic radiographs excluded pulmonary oedema and showed very few pulmonary changes given the intensity of the respiratory compromise. Echocardiographic examination revealed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and a thrombus in the right pulmonary artery. Pulmonary scintigraphy confirmed a pulmonary thromboembolism with hypovascularisation of the left cranial lobe and of the ventral segment of the right lobe. Conservative treatment was instituted using an antibiotic (doxycycline), anticoagulants (heparin, coumadine) and a calcium inhibitor (diltiazem). The cat was given absolute rest. The general condition of the animal improved.     

First clinical trial of cat soft-tissue sarcomas treatment by electrochemotherapy

Electrochemotherapy combines bleomycin and local electric pulses that allow cell permeabilization and free access of bleomycin to its intracellular target. We report the first veterinarian clinical trial of electrochemotherapy in 12 cats with spontaneous large soft-tissue sarcomas that suffered relapse after treatment with conventional therapies. Permeabilizing electric pulses were delivered using external surface electrodes, as well as new needle-shaped electrodes that were designed to be inserted in tumours for more effective treatment of several-centimetre-thick tumour nodules. The electric pulses were applied to the tumours several times from 4 to 15-30 min after a bolus intravenous injection of 0.5 mg kg(-1) bleomycin. Tolerance to treatment was excellent without general side-effects. The cats showed local inflammatory reactions for a few days and disease stabilization lasted from 2 weeks to 7 months. One partial regression was observed, and the general absence of nodule volume decrease can be explained by local fibrotic reactions. Histological analysis of biopsies also revealed massive tumour cell death. The cats' lifespan increased (P<0.001), with a mean survival time of 6.1 months (maximum 18 months) compared with 0.8 months (maximum 1.5 months) for a group of 11 untreated control cats displaying similar carcinological features. Electrochemotherapy is clearly effective as a salvage treatment for large spontaneous solid tumours in adverse clinical situations and this is promising for future applications.     

Experimental characterization of EHF multipath indoor radiochannels

This paper reports on experimental results and their interpretations for an indoor extremely high frequency (EHF) multipath channel. It is intended to help in establishing design guidelines for indoor wireless communications systems using millimeter waves. It deals with measurements obtained for the narrow and wideband indoor radio channels at 37.2 GHz within a typical concrete building at Laval University. Two kinds of transmission antennas, omnidirectional and directional, are used to investigate the propagation characteristics for the indoor channel. Under line-of-sight (LOS) conditions, the distance-power law exponent is found to be lower than the free space condition with walls playing a major role on the sustaining of high level signals. Large- and smallscale variations extracted from the original data are shown to follow log-normal and Rice distributions, respectively. The observed wideband impulse response has delay spread extending over a range up to 40 ns and a maximum root mean square (rms) value of about 16 ns. Both amplitude and phase behaviors of the signals are available for a better understanding of the various effects     

High finesse wavelength selective coupler based on ARROWs

We describe the design of an add/drop filter for wavelength division multiplexing applications that has a periodic Fabry-Perot functionality with a finesse of 100. The filter is based on a directional coupler comprising antiresonant reflecting waveguides (ARROWs) that are deliberately designed to be slightly asymmetric in order to increase the finesse. The insertion loss due to filtering is 3 dB for the selected (added/dropped) wavelengths, while the cross-talk of unselected ones is -25 dB.     

Effect of mild autoclaving and deamidisation on the nutritive value of protein fractions

The nutritive value of zein, rapeseed 12S and α-casein was assessed by apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) and net protein ratio (NPR). Protein fractions were suspended (100 g litre^?1) in 0.1M HCl or in water and autoclaved for 1 h. The degree of deamidisation following acid autoclaving was 14.0% for zein, 7.3% for rapeseed 12S and 8.9% for α-casein. Results indicate that autoclaving in water or in HCl improved the ADC of zein and rapeseed 12S. However, acid autoclaving increased (P<0.05) the NPR of rapeseed 12S (from 3.07 to 3.44) whereas it decreased (P<0.05) that of α-casein (from 4.21 to 3.57).